Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest


Sweden has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times since making its debut in, missing only three contests since then. The current Swedish participating broadcaster in the contest is Sveriges Television, which select its entrant through the national competition Melodifestivalen. Sweden has hosted the contest seven times: three times in Stockholm, three times in Malmö and one time in Gothenburg. At the, Sweden was one of the first five countries to adopt televoting.
Sweden, along with, is the most successful country in the Eurovision Song Contest, with a total of seven victories. Sweden also has the most top-five results of the 21st century, with 13; in total, Sweden has achieved 27 top-five results in the contest. After finishing second with "Nygammal vals" performed by Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson in, Sweden went on to achieve its seven victories with "Waterloo" by ABBA, "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" by Herreys, "Fångad av en stormvind" by Carola, "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson, "Euphoria" by Loreen, "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw, and "Tattoo" by Loreen.

Contest history

Sveriges Radio is a full member of the European Broadcasting Union, thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. It participated in the contest representing Sweden since its in 1958. Since 1980, after a restructuring that led to the creation of its television subsidiary Sveriges Television, it is the latter who participates representing Sweden.
Sweden's first entrant in the contest was "Lilla stjärna" performed by Alice Babs in, who was placed fourth. This remained the country's best result until, when "Nygammal vals" by Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson was second.
Sweden's first Eurovision victory was in with the song "Waterloo", performed by ABBA. Following their victory in Brighton, ABBA went on to gain worldwide success and become one of the best-selling pop groups of all time. In the 1980s, Sweden achieved three successive top three results. After "Främling " by Carola finished third in, "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" by the Herreys gave Sweden its second victory in. "Bra vibrationer " by Kikki Danielsson then finished third in. Carola returned to the contest in, eventually giving Sweden its third win with "Fångad av en stormvind", defeating in a tie-break. "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson gave the country a second win of the decade in. The 1990s also saw two third-place results, for Jan Johansen in and One More Time in. In the 2000s, the best Swedish result was fifth place, which it achieved four times, with Friends in, Fame in, Lena Philipsson in and Carola, who in, became the only Swedish performer to achieve three top-five results. Together with Croatia and Malta, Sweden was one of only three countries to have never been relegated under the pre-2004 rules of the contest.
With the exception of 2006, Sweden endured a poor run of results from to, placing no higher than 18th. The nadir came in, when Anna Bergendahl became the first Swedish entrant to fail to qualify for the final, finishing 11th in the semi-final, only five points from qualification. Since then, the country has been very successful, finishing in the top ten in all subsequent editions except two. This includes a fifth victory courtesy of "Euphoria" by Loreen in, a sixth victory courtesy of "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw in, and a seventh victory courtesy of "Tattoo" by Loreen in. With her 2023 win, Loreen also became the second performer as well as the first female artist to win the contest more than once. Additional top-five placements during this period are third places in and, fourth places in and, and fifth places in,, and.

Melodifestivalen

To choose its entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest, SR and SVT have organised an annual music competition known since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. It is one of Sweden's most popular television shows, and it has been estimated that more than four million Swedes watch the show annually. All of Sweden's entries for Eurovision have been selected through Melodifestivalen, with the exception of its first entry in 1958, which was internally selected by SR.

Awards

Marcel Bezençon Awards

YearCategorySongPerformerComposer
lyrics / music
Final
result
PointsHost city
Artistic Award"Never Let It Go"Afro-diteMarcos Ubeda872center|escyr|2006Efn|name=prev

Winners by OGAE members

YearSongPerformerFinal
result
PointsHost city
"Hero"Charlotte Perrelli1847|2004center|escyr|2012

Related involvement

Heads of delegation

Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others.
YearHead of delegation
Rennie Mirro
Christer Björkman
Mari Ryberger
Christer Björkman
Lotta Furebäck

Commentators and spokespersons

Over the years Swedish commentary has been provided by several experienced radio and television presenters, including Jacob Dahlin, Ulf Elfving, Harald Treutiger, Pekka Heino, Kristian Luuk, and Fredrik Belfrage. Since, Edward af Sillén provided the SVT commentary alongside various dual commentators.
YearTelevision commentatorRadio commentatorSpokesperson
Nils Linnman
Jan Gabrielssonrowspan="12" Tage Danielsson
Jan GabrielssonRoland Eiworth-
Jan GabrielssonTage Danielsson-
Jan GabrielssonRoland Eiworth-
Jan GabrielssonTage Danielsson-
Jörgen CederbergEdvard Matz-
Sven Lindahl-
Berndt FribergEdvard Matz-
Sven LindahlEdvard Matz-
Christina HansegårdEdvard Matz-
Christina HansegårdEdvard Matz-
Christina HansegårdEdvard Matz-
Åke StrömmerUrsula Richterrowspan="3"
Bo BillténBjörn Bjelfvenstam-
Alicia LundbergUrsula Richter-
Johan SandströmUrsula RichterSven Lindahl
Åke StrömmerUrsula RichterSven Lindahl
Ursula Richter
Ulf ElfvingÅke Strömmer, Ursula RichterSven Lindahl
Ulf ElfvingKent FinellSven Lindahl
Ulf ElfvingKent FinellSven Lindahl
Ulf ElfvingKent FinellArne Weise
Ulf ElfvingBengteric Nordell
Ulf ElfvingKent FinellArne Weise
Ulf ElfvingKent FinellAgneta Bolme-Börjefors
Fredrik BelfrageAgneta Bolme-Börjefors
Fredrik BelfrageJan Ellerås, Rune HallbergAgneta Bolme-Börjefors
Ulf ElfvingJacob DahlinAgneta Bolme-Börjefors
Fredrik BelfrageJacob DahlinJan Ellerås
Bengt GrafströmKalle OldbyMaud Uppling
Jacob DahlinKent Finell, Janeric SundquistAgneta Bolme-Börjefors
Jan JingrydKersti Adams-RayJan Ellerås
Harald TreutigerKalle Oldby, Runne HallbergBo Hagström
Björn Kjellman, Jesper AspegrenKalle Oldby, Lotta EngbergJan Jingryd
Jan Jingryd, Kåge GimtellSusan Seidemar, Claes-Johan LarssonGösta Hanson
Pekka HeinoClaes-Johan Larsson, Lisa SyrénMarianne Anderberg
Pernilla Månsson, Kåge GimtellClaes-Johan Larsson, Lisa SyrénBjörn Hedman
Björn KjellmanClaes-Johan Larsson, Lisa SyrénUlla Rundqvist
Jan JingrydClaes-Johan Larsson, Lisa SyrénGösta Hanson
Pernilla Månsson, Christer BjörkmanClaes-Johan Larsson, Anna HötzelBjörn Hedman
Pekka Heino, Anders BerglundCarolina NorénPontus Gårdinger
Pernilla Månsson, Christer LundhCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanMalin Ekander
Henrik OlssonCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanJosefine Sundström
Claes Åkesson, Christer BjörkmanCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanKristin Kaspersen
Pekka HeinoCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanKattis Ahlström
Pekka HeinoCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanJovan Radomir
Pekka HeinoCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanAnnika Jankell
Pekka HeinoCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanJovan Radomir
Kristian Luuk, Josef SterzenbachCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanAndré Pops
Kristian Luuk, Josef SterzenbachCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanBjörn Gustafsson
Edward af Sillén, Shirley ClampCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanSarah Dawn Finer
Edward af Sillén, Christine MeltzerCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanEric Saade
Edward af Sillén, Hélène BennoCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanDanny Saucedo
Edward af Sillén, Gina DirawiCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanSarah Dawn Finer
Josefine SundströmCarolina Norén, Ronnie Ritterland, Björn Kjellman Yohio
Edward af Sillén, Malin OlssonCarolina Norén, Ronnie RitterlandAlcazar
Edward af Sillén, Sanna NielsenCarolina Norén, Ronnie RitterlandMariette Hansson
Lotta BroméCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanGina Dirawi
Edward af Sillén, Måns ZelmerlöwCarolina Norén, Björn Kjellman, Ola GäverthWiktoria
Edward af Sillén, Sanna NielsenCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanFelix Sandman
Edward af Sillén, Charlotte PerrelliCarolina Norén, Björn KjellmanEric Saade
Edward af Sillén, Christer BjörkmanCarolina NorénCarola
Edward af Sillén, Linnea Henriksson Carolina NorénDotter
Edward af Sillén, Måns Zelmerlöw Carolina NorénFarah Abadi
Edward af Sillén, Tina MehrafzoonCarolina NorénFrans Jeppsson Wall
Edward af Sillén, Petra Mede Carolina NorénKeyyo